calls for mining sector inclusivity...

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Best diamonds at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean 26

Calls for mining sectorinclusivity persist

Peninsula divest interest inKaroo projects 18

Trigon, Manila signs copperofftake deal for Kombat 12

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VOLUME 6: ISSUE 9 N$ 26.50 OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2017

Namibian Mining Review | April - June 2017 1www.namibianminingnews.com

9772308006008

Best diamonds at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean 26

Calls for mining sectorinclusivity persist

Peninsula divest interest inKaroo projects 18

Trigon, Manila signs copperofftake deal for Kombat 12

ContentsAndrew Marimwidze: Editor

EDITORIAL NOTEReengineer mining’s wealth distribution quotas : .......................... 4Copper cathode production hikes at Tschudi : ............................... 5

NEWS BRIEFSKombat open pit mining granted clearance certificate : .............. 5On land diamond operations winds up : ........................................ 6Namdeb to close four mines : ............................................................ 6Specialist warns against uranium shortage : ................................... 6

COVER STORY Calls for mining sector inclusivity persist : ........................................ 8

GENERAL NEWS AfriTin breathes life into Uis : ............................................................... 9Bell inks deal with Japan’s Kobelco : ................................................... 10New ten year mining license for DFI : ................................................ 11Trigon, Manila signs copper offtake deal for Kombat : .................. 12Tumas 3 resource estimates inspire Deep Yellow’s explorations: . 13Weatherly announce new debt repayment reschedule : .............. 14Continent’s association of mines on the cards : ............................... 15

REGIONAL NEWS Kariba South extension on track : ........................................................ 16Lusaka’s Star Zinc project fast tracked : .............................................. 17Peninsula divest interest in Karoo projects: ........................................ 18Dredging made easy with Watermaster : ........................................... 19Industry Trends & Technologies : .......................................................... 19De Beers’ rough diamonds production rise : ..................................... 20

INTERNATIONAL NEWSKAMAZ trucks enters Southern Africa market : ................................ 20

CORPORATE NEWSEuromoney overhaul Mining Indaba : ................................................. 21IIDGR expands into Singapore : ........................................................ 21New solution for underground loaders on offer : ............................ 22

FEATURESBest diamonds at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean : .................... 24Fluke’s range of process calibration tools : ........................................ 24Continuous Improvement Drive Move To Reborn Equipment: .... 23Energy exploration firm sets eyes on Namibia : ............................... 36

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Protective Clothing Safely Footwear Hand Protection Eye & Hearing Protection Respiratory Protection Fall Arrest Protection Spillage Kits Safely Showers

Blast hole drillingExploration drillingBlasting servicesSale of new drilling equipmentSale of used drilling equipmentDrilling consumablesProject management

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4 Namibian Mining Review | October - December 2017 www.namibianminingnews.com

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EDITORIAL NOTE

Reengineer mining’s wealth

distribution quotasSo should our people continue to be poor and pave way for those with

heavy pockets to enjoy our natural resources?

Government’s determination for wealth to be equal shared amongst citizens is most welcome.

Efforts to ensure all and sundry enjoy and par-ticipate in the country’s mining industry have potential to spark tension amongst white and blacks in the country, but an amicable way should be there in all this tension.

As economic scales change, the capital intense mining industry is grabbing everyone’s atten-tion. We see great opportunities and an ever-lasting economic fountain that should benefit all.

Knowing that this industry is capital intense and has remained a preserve for few big boys with deep pockets, it remains a puzzle how govern-ment will balance the equation without antag-onism investors.

Empowerment of citizens is ever a challenge topic for most government, though it’s an ex-cellent and noble idea, not always has such activities or initiatives been done with denting an economy.

Now making the equilibrium work brings head-ache: it’s a right for any native citizen to de-mand a stake in the country’s endowments and investors with deep pockets also feel it’s their right to control the boat or they move to the next destination.

So should our people continue to be poor and pave way for those with heavy pockets to enjoy our natural resources?

Hearts go soar, especial to those that could have been moved from their ancestral land to

pave way for mining activities boom and yet we see a few benefit from both employment and the royalties paid by the mining compa-nies.

So the Namibia Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEF), what new goodies will it bring for us.

Will it balance the equation, are youth and women, the most vulnerable going to benefit.

Should we the authorities balance this, a big praise will go their way and citizens will forever celebrate such.

Enjoy your reading!

Please remember to send your comments, sug-gestions and letters.


Copper cathode production hikes at Tschudi

Weatherly International’s Tschudi mine’s third quarter production for copper cathode production has improved by 21% on quar-ter-on-quarter to 4 105 t.

“The company continues to experience low-er-than-anticipated leach rates . . . and con-tinues to compensate for this by exposing ore faster in the pit and stacking higher volumes of copper metal in ore, which together result in a higher C1 cost in the short to medium term,” the company said in a statement to stakehold-ers.

The report indicates that Weatherly continues to extend the heap leach pad area to provide additional time for the leaching of copper and has now completed the construction of four new leach pads.

Weatherly’s bulk earthworks and clay liners for the final remaining three pads are also com-plete.

Meanwhile the company noted that open pit groundwater inflows continue to increase as pit mining proceeds to deeper elevations.

However, the flow rates are being managed adequately to ensure a reliable supply of ore for stacking.

Weatherly has also warned that it, and its sub-sidiaries, are unlikely to generate sufficient sur-plus cash to meet all loan repayments when due, particularly in the near term.

Etango granted deposit reten-tion licence

Government has granted Bannerman Resourc-es’ Etango Uranium Project a mineral deposit retention licence with a five year extendable term.

According to the company, the retention li-cence covers an area of 7,295 hectares, which includes the Etango ore body, two satellite de-posits at Hyena and Ondjamba and all planned mine infrastructure.

“The retention licence provides strong and exclusive rights to tenure and the right (with-out obligation) to continue with exploration or development work, enabling the DFS update work program to continue,” said Brandon Mun-ro, Bannerman Chief Executive Officer.

Munro commended government’s continued support to the project, adding that the com-modity price does not currently support the profitable development of the project.

“A retention licence is the ideal tenure for the highly advanced Etango project.

“It ensures this world-class project can move quickly to a mining licence when the uranium price recovers and gives us maximum flexibility in the meantime.”

Meawnhile 100% of the project’s uranium re-sources are secured under long term tenure.

Kombat open pit mining granted clearance certificate

Trigon Metals has received the environmental approvals required to commence exploration at the company’s open pit mining project Kom-bat.

Government recently awarded the company an environmental clearance certificate for pro-posed exploration on the mining licences held by Manila Investments (Pty) Ltd, an 80% owned subsidiary of Trigon.

Valid for three years, the certificate allows the company to commence with its infill drilling program, focused on the Kombat Central and East open pit mining areas, with the objective of upgrading the current mineral resources from the inferred category to measured and indicated mineral resources.

Meanwhile the company is continuing its dis-cussions with several potential offtake partners in order to assess the opportunities for mar-keting its product when production has recom-menced.

“We are extremely pleased to announce yet another milestone in the process of bringing Kombat back into production. The outlook for the copper market remains strong and we are well placed to participate in this upside,” said Stephan Theron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trigon.

Trigon is a publicly traded Canadian explora-tion and development company with its core business focused on copper operations in Namibia, one of the world’s most prospective

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copper regions, where it has substantial assets in place with significant upside.

The company continues to hold an 80% inter-est in five mining licenses in the Otavi Mountain lands, an area of Namibia widely recognized for its high-grade copper deposits.

Within these licences are three past producing mines including the company’s flagship prop-erty, the Kombat Mine.

Namdeb to close four mines

Mineworkers Union of Namibia (MUN) says Namdeb plans to close four mines in the com-ing five years. Mbidhi Shavuka, MUN Oranjemund Branch Chairperson told media that the union has started negotiating with Namdeb to save jobs.

“We also understand that it is the nature of the resource; diamonds are finite,” he said. The mines to be shut down are Elizabeth Bay Mine at the end of next year, Daberas at the end of 2019, Sendelingsdrift in 2020 and the main one, Southern Coastal, in 2022, Shavuka said. The shutdowns would be a severe blow to the Namibian economy, as diamonds account for around 20 percent of its foreign export earn-ings. Namdeb appears to be concentrating on high-er-value marine diamonds after launching the world’s largest diamond exploration ship in June to operate off the coast of Namibia since many land-based deposits are approaching depletion.

Opuwo cobalt project equity raising commence

Australian company Celsius Resources intends to raise A$3.9-million to advance its Opuwo cobalt project.

“This capital raising allows the company to be fully funded for the rapid advancement of the exciting Opuwo cobalt project over the next 12 months,” said Celsius Managing Durector Bren-dan Borg.

The company has completed a bookbuild for the issue of 71.6-million shares, priced at 5.5c each, to raise A$3.9-million.

The shares will be issued under the company’s placement capacity, and will not require share-holder approval.

“The strong support received for this raising from a large number of new institutional inves-tors, as well as existing shareholders including

Gecko Namibia, illustrates the high potential of the project and the expected continued grow-ing demand for new energy metals such as cobalt.”

According to the company, the funds raised will be used towards the completion of re-source drilling and metallurgical testwork programmes, a scoping study, exploration on newly acquired licenses and the start of a pre-feasibility study.

Specialist warns against uranium shortage

Uranium expert and representative of the In-ternational Atomic Energy Agency, Dr Martin Fairclough, predicts the world will face a short-age of uranium within the next three decades, as demand will outweigh supply.

Speaking at the Uranium International Confer-ence in Swakopmund, Fairclough said coun-tries should vigorously explore and discover new uranium deposits to ensure its long-term availability.

He said approximately seven million tonnes of uranium are left in the world.

“It might sound huge – however one should consider how long it takes from discovery to the actual mining,” said Fairclough indicating that it can take up to 20 years from discovery to extraction of uranium.

The analyst anticipates that demand may ex-ceed supply, as demand for uranium by India and China, rise.

“The supply of uranium is at risk despite the current huge availability due to low uranium prices following the Fukushima incident in 2013.” He said the market is expected to sta-bilize.

Currently 15 countries hold 95 percent of the world’s identified resources of which six coun-tries account for 90 percent of world produc-tion. And the Minex Consulting report of 2010 indicates that 50 percent of the world’s resourc-es have never been produced.

“While there are significant stockpile inventories there is no guarantee they will be accessible.

The uranium resource base is more than ad-equate to meet projected growth by 2035, hence new deposits should be identified and explored in time to meet the demand by 2035,” he explained.

Fairclough said countries such as India and Chi-na will increasingly demand more uranium, as nuclear power is expected to be an important part of the worldwide energy mix at least for the next 50 years and beyond.

As efforts to diversify Oranjemund economic activities, ahead of dia-monds mining coming to an end, authorities have opened the dia-

mond-mining town to public.

Previously restricting visitors Oranjemund, which lies in a diamond-mining area called the Sperrgebiet, or 'prohibited area' in German, held celebrations this month to declare an end to its isolation from the rest of the country.

The Namibia Press Agency said a new road has opened between the Namibian town of Rosh Pinah and Oranjemund, ending a de-cades-long system whereby travellers had to get security clearance before entering the Sperrgebiet.

Namdeb, a joint venture between Namibia and the De Beers company, operates in the Oran-jemund area.

Diamond-mining on land is expected to wind down in coming years, while more focus is be-ing placed on offshore mining operations.

Situated in the extreme southwest of Namib-ia, on the northern bank of the Orange River mouth at the border to South Africa, Oranje-mund is a relatively green oasis of 4,000 inhab-itants in the middle of the desert.

The bird-abundant Orange River offers plen-ty of secluded camping spots along its banks, while the desert sand surrounding the town is enough to entice off-roaders and sand board-ers.

Oranjemund also enjoys the diverse and beau-tiful Sperrgebiet National Park on its doorstep, as well as the wild Atlantic Ocean.

On land diamond

operations winds up

…as Oranjemund opens to public


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COVER STORY

Authorities continue to bemoan lack of inclusivity in the country’s mining industry, a development shunning citizens including women better

opportunities to contribute to GDP.

Obeth Kandjoze mines and energy minister recently told participants at the Chamber of Mines symposium with other associations in Africa that government views mining as a leading industries game changer, amid qualms.

He lamented structure of ownership and management composition which is predominantly white males, citing the skewed distribution of opportunities afforded to all nationals.

Statistics indicates that whites make up only about 6% of Namibia's population of 2.4 million, but overwhelmingly dominate business ownership.

Early this year, President Hage Geingob said his administration wants to make it mandatory for white-owned businesses to sell a 25% stake to blacks, calling the country one of the most unequal in the world.

Already a controversial draft bill on the Namibia Economic Empowerment Framework (NEEF) is before cabinet and government is on record saying its forging ahead to legislate the bill.

Apart from ownership and management representation, government is also not fully convinced with the employment structures in the mining industry.

Kandjoze added that government simply receives the number of those employed, not knowing the distribution of jobs as in who occupies the cream of those jobs.

“I think Africa has been long aware of these practices. Just about the same numbers created by direct mining are created by procurement.

“The distribution is something that government should be at the centre of, and without that paper, we issue the mining and exploration licences. Without certification, central procurement is nothing,” said Kandjoze.

Kandjoze said mining is the backbone of the economy, and it is a fundamental aspect of Namibian livelihoods.

Currently mining the major employer in the country and contributes 12% to Namibia's GDP, and over 50% of Namibia's foreign exchange earnings.

“Without mining revenue, half of government's activities will fall flat because it is a major contributor to revenue, and is one of those industries where if the exports of these commodities fall below half, then Namibia is affected because that revenue stops coming in,” said Kandjoze.

Calls for mining sector inclusivity persist

Apart from ownership and management representation, government is also not fully convinced with the employment structures in the mining industry.


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Namibian Mining News_300617

30 June 2017 12:13:45 PM

GENERAL NEWS

New junior miner AfriTin has an-nounced plans to list on AIM, a mar-ket operated by the London Stock Exchange.

The development comes after the company’s de-merge from Bushveld Minerals, the de-velopers of Uis once the largest hard-rock tin mine in the world.

AfriTin will float around 50pc of its shares to raise equity of between £2m and £6m to put the Uis mine back into production.

Anthony Viljoen, Chief Executive Officer of Af-riTin said rising tin prices and a shortage of global supply made it the right time to list the Uis project.

The deposit was discovered in 1911, but ceased production in the 1990s after tin prices col-lapsed.

“The next phase of commodity supercycle is going to focus toward specialty metals,” Viljoen said.

“Before tin prices crashed in the 1980s, there was a profusion of tin companies listed in Lon-don; we want to rejuvenate that.”

More than half the world’s tin supply is used in solder for electronics and it has risen in price by around a third since the start of 2016, and AfriTin hopes it can ride the wave of interest in battery technology for electric vehicles, point-ing out tin can be used in lithium ion batteries.

It wants to produce 5,000 tonnes of tin concen-trate in the next five years.

AfriTin Mining was formed in 2017, to acquire Greenhills Resources, a wholly-owned subsidi-ary of Bushveld Minerals, an AIM quoted diver-sified mineral development company.

The company’s key assets include an 85% in-terest in the Uis tin project (Uis), a brownfield near term production opportunity, which was once the largest open cast tin mine of its kind in the world.

AfriTin Mining will also hold portfolio of tin as-sets in South Africa which include the Moko-pane tin project and the Zaaiplaats tin tailings project.

AfriTin breathes life into UisAfriTin will float around 50pc of its shares to raise equity of between £2m

and £6m to put the Uis mine back into production.


GENERAL NEWS

Bell Equipment has signed an agreement with global excavator specialist - Ko-belco Construction Machinery Co. Ltd (Kobelco), for exclusive distribution and

support of the company’s excavators in the Southern African region.

Stephen Jones, Bell Equipment Group Market-ing Director said the partnership should pro-vide both companies with the stability needed to realise their growth potential in the excava-tor market.

"The Kobelco focus on product innovation and efficiency resonates with our own ideologies and the company also shares our passion for customer support, making it a great fit for our business.

We share a number of dealers around the world and we are fully aware of how impressive these machines are and the name they have made, specifically through the choice of premi-um components, overall reliability and low fuel consumption delivered by the Toyota Group's Hino engines," said Jones.

Kobelco is a leader in excavator innovation, having developed Japan's first construction machine in 1930, followed in 1963 with Japan's first wheel mounted hydraulic excavator.

"We are fortunate to have teamed up with a leading capital equipment distributor in South-ern Africa, and also a like-minded company that believes in listening to its customers and reacting quickly," said Managing Director of Kobelco Construction Machinery Middle East and Africa, John Boyd.

"With Bell Equipment's broad product range, extensive distribution network and strong rep-utation for strong customer support, we be-lieve that we have found the right partner for our products in this region."

Boyd said Kobelco is pursuing the enhance-ment of performance capacity and improved cost efficiency with due care for the environ-ment.

Kobelco excavators have two digging modes - H mode for heavy duty and higher perfor-mance and S mode for normal operations with lower fuel consumption. “Real life situations show that the S mode can deliver around 20% reduction in fuel when per-forming the same tasks as like-sized machines while engagement of the H mode delivers 8% more productivity at the same fuel burn as competitor machines,” said Boyd.

He said the 'true blue Kobelco evolution' is about creating value, building a future and changing the world with the distinctive colour acting as a reminder of these underlying val-ues that we put into our products and business dealings."

Bell will be complementing its extensive prod-uct range by developing the full range of Ko-belco excavators, from the small 1t mini exca-vators through to the largest 85t units. This will offer customers options for the smallest appli-cations as well as competitively priced and per-fectly matched loading tools for Bell Articulat-ed Dump Trucks in the construction, quarrying and mining industries.

Both companies agree that the new partner-ship has the potential to shake up the excava-tor market in the Southern Africa region.

"We have no doubt that the market will react quickly to the association between a fantastic product and a strong, well-established dealer network.

We look forward to introducing these excava-tors to our customers and have confidence that with these machines, and our proven sales and support network, that we can earn our rightful place in this market segment," said Jones.

Bell inks deal with Japan’s Kobelco


GENERAL NEWS

Government has renewed Dia-mond Fields International’s (DFI) mining license, giving the com-pany a ten years permit.

The company recently announced that it had received notification from the minis-try of Mines and Energy (MME) that the Minister intends to renew the company's key mining license - ML111 for a period of ten years.

“The renewal is subject to certain terms and conditions, which the Company is currently working with MME to address on or before November 20, 2017,” said the company.

Other conditions to license renewal is a requirement that the company under-take a renewed environmental impact assessment and have an environmental management plan report prepared and approved.

In addition, the company must ensure that at least 5% of its local subsidiary is under ownership of Namibian persons.

“The Company intends to comply with these requirements on or before Novem-ber 20, 2017,” said Sybrand van der Spuy, Chief Executive Officer and Director.

Since 2001 and 2004 mining operations on DFI's marine diamond concessions were conducted on an irregular basis un-der various joint venture and contracting arrangements.

In late 2004, DFI acquired its own twin air-lift mining vessel, mv DF Discoverer, which began mining on the licence areas in mid 2005, and suspended operations in 2008 due to the economic downturn.

Some of the highlights of this production are as follows 158,200 carats recovered (Sep 30, 2007) - 95% gem quality and diamond Sales since June 2004 (to Sep 30, 2007) of S$12.4M with average price US$203 per carat.

In 2013, the company entered in to a joint venture agreement with Afri-Can Marine Minerals Corp. to restart mining on the concessions.

As part of the venture agreement, Af-ri-Can undertook an independent assess-ment of the resources with ML111.

The remaining resources derived from this study are quoted as 413 000 carats in the indicated and 453 000 carats inferred cat-egories as below:

New ten year mining license for DFI


GENERAL NEWS

Kombat Mine has inked a copper concen-trate offtake deal and a financing facility to fund operations activities in order to commence with open pit mining.

The developers Trigon Metals and Manila In-vestments signed a contract with a major in-ternational trading house to buy 100% of the annual production from the Kombat mine up to a total of 20,000mt of contained copper.

According to the officials the deal represents the anticipated life of mine production from the open pit in the Kombat Central and East areas.

The terms of the offtake are subject to various conditions precedent, including final due dili-gence and approvals from the trader.

In conjunction with the offtake, the trader will provide a financing facility to Manila of up to

US$7.7 million (the "Facility") to refurbish the concentrator at the Kombat mine, to upgrade infrastructures and for working capital pur-poses to bring the Kombat open pit mine into production.

Trigon will act as guarantor for the facility, and security will include first ranking charges and security interest over all present and future property and assets of Manila.

The terms of the facility are subject to various conditions precedent, including final due dili-gence and approvals from the trader.

"The financing and offtake arrangements rep-resent a major milestone for Trigon and Manila in re-starting the Kombat mine.

“We are pleased to be partnering with a ma-jor international trader in this exciting venture,

which should ensure that we can meet our 2018 production restart goals," said Stephan Theron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trigon.

The company is concurrently progressing var-ious work streams regarding its strategy to bring the Kombat mine back into production and is targeting the commencement of open pit mining by mid-2018.

Historically, projects that are re-commenced prior to the mining company completing a fea-sibility study have a much higher risk of eco-nomic or technical failure.

Estimates regarding production levels, devel-opment timetable and economic feasibility in respect of the Kombat mine are based on inter-nal management forecasts and are inherently uncertain and subject to continued refinement.

Trigon, Manila signs copper offtake deal for Kombat

Deep Yellow Limited’s subsidiary Rep-tile Uranium Namibia has announced maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the Tumas 3 discovery.

Reptile Uranium Namibia said the MRE is en-couraging at a 200ppm eU3O8 cut-off, com-prises 23.5Mlb inferred mineral resources at a grade of 382ppm eU3O8.

The results come after a three month drilling program at Tumas 3 was completed in July 2017.

John Borshoff, Managing Director for Deep Yel-low Limited said undertaken using various cut-off grades by means of a minimum thickness of 1m, the MRE conform to the 2012 JORC Code of Mineral Resource Reporting.

He said the drilling outlined a 4.4km long zone of continuous calcrete uranium mineralisation, of the total 400 holes drilled (for 10,545m) and 284 returned positive results – an overall 71% success rate.

Borshoff said mineralisation remains open both west and east and will be the subject of further drilling.

“The Tumas 3 discovery has significantly in-creased the company’s surficial calcrete palae-ochannel mineral resource base on this project by 47% which now totals 73.6Mlb U3O8,” said Borshoff.

“The mineralisation at Tumas 3 occurs as a dis-tinct mineralised body separate from the other uranium mineral resources the company has previously identified elsewhere within these pa-

laeochannels in its Tumas 1 & 2 and Tubas Red Sands/Calcrete deposits,” he added.

Borshoff said the palaeochannels at Tumas 3 has only been sparsely drilled along widely spaced regional lines with large sections com-pletely untested.

Meanwhile Deep Yellow has identified 100km of palaeochannel targets with large sections remaining to be tested.

According to the company the very encourag-ing results at Tumas 3 from drilling over 4.4km gives the management team confidence that the company has notably advanced towards reaching its stated total exploration target 1 of 100 - 150Mlb at a grade range of 300ppm - 500ppm for this type of uranium mineralisation.

Tumas 3 resource estimates inspire Deep Yellow’s explorations

Meanwhile Deep Yellow has identified 100km of palaeochannel targets with large sections remaining to be tested.

Historically, projects that are re-commenced prior to the mining company completing a feasibility study have a much higher risk of economic or technical failure.


GENERAL NEWS

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Copper producer Weatherly has de-clared another reschedule for a debt repayment due to Orion Mine Finance Fund I LP.

However, the company has made no further drawdown on the uncommitted US$10m loan since the last rescheduling on 30 August 2017.

Statement released by the company said Weatherly has entered into a further amend-ment and restatement agreement in relation to its existing facility with Orion

“The first repayment of Facility B, previously due on 31 October 2017 is now due on 31 De-cember 2017 and the second repayment previ-ously due on 30 November 2017 is now due on 31 January 2018.

“Subsequent payments are unchanged, pay-able quarterly from 28 February 2018 until 28 February 2020.The Facility B Final Maturity

Date remains unchanged at 28 February 2020,” said the statement.

Weatherly said each Facility B repayment will remain unchanged so that Facility B will be repayable in 11 equal repayments of US$9.7m each.

“The repayment of US$10.3 million including capital and interest up until 31 August 2017 un-der Facilities C and D of the Amended Facility has been deferred until 31 December 2017.”

Meanwhile Weatherly advises it has made no further drawdowns on the US$10 million uncommitted loan from Orion Mine Finance announced on 28 July 2017 to accelerate the building of the leach pads and to fund working capital requirements at Tschudi.

To seek to ensure the loan would be sufficient to meet the necessary funding requirements the Company has hedged both copper and

currency out to May 2018.

In addition to hedges previously announced, Weatherly has 1,000 tonnes a month fixed April to May at an average copper price of US$6,474 per tonne and N$ to US$ exchange rate of 13.45.

As previously advised on 28 April 2017, as a loan rescheduling fee, Orion has the right but not the obligation to buy, if available, up to 700 tonnes of unhedged cathode each month from Weatherly until 30 April 2018 at a price of US$6000 per tonne. Orion can only exercise its option to the extent of unhedged tonnes pro-duced in the month. So far this financial year Orion have not elected to exercise their option.

The Company and its subsidiaries are unlikely to generate sufficient surplus cash to meet all loan repayments when due, particularly in the near term. The Company continues to positive-ly engage with Orion on the subject.

Weatherly announce new debt repayment reschedule


Chamber of Mines South Africa has applauded the increasing collaboration between the min-ing bodies from Southern Afri-

ca.

Roger Baxter, Chief Executive Officer of Chamber of Mines said the growing alli-ance will soon champion the formation of the Association of Chambers of Mines in Africa.

The Association is envisaged to be the

single voice of the mining industry in Af-rica to influence the 2063 agenda of the African Union (AU).

Baxter said SADC’s legislative challenge that have a negative impact on direct investment, lower-than-expected growth of the sector and trust deficit between governments and the mining industry has pulled the miners in the region together.

He said one of the causes of mistrust be-tween government and business in Afri-

ca is the view that illicit financial flows are pervasive and significant.

“We do not dispute that they occur,” said Baxter.

Chamber of Mines South Africa has plans to share the results of independent re-search that we commissioned on illicit financial flows, and to see how we - as companies and countries - can stamp this out where it does occur at next year's ministerial symposium.

REGIONAL NEWS

Continent’s association

of mines on the cards

Roger Baxter, Chief Executive Officer of Chamber of Mines


REGIONAL NEWS

Galileo Resources has announced plans to fast-track a drilling program at its Star Zinc Project in Zambia.

The development comes after the company’s 2015 independent conceptual study undertak-en using current metal prices.

According to Galileo the drill program is esti-mated to cost around US$350,000 and include initial twin-hole drilling in the non-compliant resource to upgrade it to JORC 2012 compli-ance.

“This will be followed by new drilling to test the potential to extend the high grade resource east and west, and in new ground to the south,” the company said.

The occurrence of high grade (>50% zinc) float, 200 metres south of the current open pit, presents an exciting prospective new target for mapping and exploration.

The conceptual study is based on open pit mining from the near-surface deposit, a miner-al resource of 250,000 tonnes at 20% zinc for a mine life of six years.

Galileo’s CEO Colin Bird said the project could potentially be developed as a viable standalone project without adding further to the resource.

“We believe that the resource could potentially be much bigger and therefore a large propor-

tion of our exploration will focus on increasing the size of project resource and contained zinc metal,” said Bird.

Bird said the acquisition of the project includes, further down the line, an offtake agreement, compatibility and amenability of the Star Zinc ore permitting, with JV partner BMR Group, which is developing its Kabwe zinc tailings treatment project some 110km north of Star Zinc.

“The objective here would be to provide suffi-cient feed for Kabwe, while pursuing our quest for a much larger project resource.”

Lusaka’s Star Zinc project fast tracked

Peninsula Energy Limited has decided to exit and sell its interests in the Karoo Projects in South Africa.

According to the company (Karoo Proj-ects) a divestment of 74% interest in the Karoo Projects through an active process over the remainder of the 2017 calendar year is on the cards.

Peninsula says may opt to retain some level of exposure to the Karoo Projects, at a significant-ly reduced level.

Karoo Projects has advanced from exploration to early stage prefeasibility over the past de-cade.

Peninsula says has decided to focus its future capital expenditures on operating Lance Proj-ects in Wyoming, USA, to best take full advan-tage of its long term sales contracts, which are well above current and forecast spot prices and extend out to 2030.

In addition, Peninsula recognises the impor-tance of continuing to support its South African

partners and stakeholders in the pursuit of the regulatory permitting processes for the Karoo Projects during the divestment process.

With the on-going challenges in the uranium market, the longer term growth and value creation opportunities for the company are more likely to be centred on cost competitive uranium ISR operations like the Lance Project, seeking value accretive acquisition opportuni-ties and capitalising on the core competencies and strengths of the Company in the ISR field.

Peninsula divest interest in Karoo projects


REGIONAL NEWS

International engineering company Hatch developing the Kariba South Extension Proj-ect on the Zambezi River has revealed that the project is 85% complete.

Hatch said the massive project is on track for completion in March 2018.

The flagship infrastructure project was initiated by the Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC) due to an acute power shortfall in the country.

With available capacity of only 1 500 MW, ver-sus a present peak power demand of 2 200 MW, it was decided to add two 150 MW units at Kariba South Power Station and two 300 MW units at Hwange Power Station, requiring sig-nificant upgrades to the existing transmission network to facilitate the evacuation of the ad-ditional power.

While Hatch is Owner’s Engineer for both proj-ects, these are totally independent of each oth-er, despite running in parallel.

“The two projects are hundreds of kilometres apart, one is hydro and the other is thermal, and both have different project teams,” said Marie-Hélène Briand, Hatch’s Global Director for Water Power.

Hatch began working on the Kariba South Ex-tension Project in 2011, with a comprehensive review of all documentation and study material to date.

“We began by reviewing all of the work carried out in the 1980s and the 2000s to see if it was still relevant, and also against the backdrop of what had changed in the industry technolo-gy-wise, as well as in terms of hydrology and general engineering practice,” Briand adds.

The Kariba South Extension Project is divided into four distinct phases.

Phase one was project inception and review, followed by procurement in phase two. In or-

der to produce a tender document, an expres-sion of Interest was sent out into the market.

Hatch then narrowed the potential candidates down to five.

“The final contractor then came on board, in this case SinoHydro. Financial close was achieved, which triggered Phase 3, the actual construction,” said Geoffrey Lee, Project Man-ager for the Kariba South Expansion Project, explains.

Overall progress on the project was 85% as at the end of May 2017.

Phase 4 involves commissioning and handover, to be followed by a two-year warranty period.

“Hatch will assist where and when needed, depending on how smoothly the plant is run-ning at that time,” Lee points out. At present, Hatch is responsible for design reviews of the equipment and solutions proposed by the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractor.

“On the engineering side, we review all of the designs to ensure these are in line with the ten-der documents and the specifications put for-ward in the contract.

This function largely takes place off-site. In addition, we have different engineers, such as electrical and mechanical, on-site to verify that everything is being built according to plan. Hatch specialists will also be on-site for two to three months during the actual commissioning and handover of the project,” Lee explains.

“With all of the power produced by both Kariba South and Hwange expected to be taken up immediately,” Briand says, “tremendous atten-tion is being focused on the projects, especially as this represents the largest infrastructure that Zimbabwe has undertaken since achieving in-dependence in 1980.”

“These projects are very important to the fu-ture of Zimbabwe, representing a scale of infra-structure development not tackled previously. This poses a particular challenge to us as Own-er’s Engineer. We have an additional challenge in dealing with a Chinese EPC contractor, and getting to understand how it operates and pre-fers to do things,” Lee highlights.

Hatch’s success with Kariba South, in particular, is the latest feather in its cap in an 85-year his-tory of hydro power projects. “We have mainly been involved in hydro projects in North Amer-ica, but also in Central and South America and in countries such as Lesotho, Nepal, Tanzania, and Uganda,” Briand highlights.

“Not only do we have a long track record of projects, but our engineers have significant experience in this industry. Our extensive local knowledge of Africa, in addition to the systems and technologies we have developed through our expertise, gives us a distinct competitive edge in the marketplace,” Briand reiterates.

Hatch also has a strong presence in China, and is able to carry out in-factory quality inspec-tions of all equipment manufactured there. The bulk of the equipment for Kariba South is com-ing from China, including the turbo-generators and balance of plant.

Lee reports that the project is on schedule at the moment. “It is a tight schedule, without any room for project slippage. There were some delays, but the recovery plan introduced was so successful that we were able to bring the critical path back to where it was originally.”

Describing Kariba South as a ‘once-in-a-life-time’ project, the Hatch Project Manager con-cludes that it is rare to be associated with a development of this magnitude from inception to commissioning and handover. “It has been a huge privilege for Hatch, as the Owner’s Engi-neer, to be associated with it.”

Kariba South extension on track


Industry Trends & Technologies

The amphibious, multipurpose Water-master dredger is gaining growing in-terest from the Southern African mining industry.

“Because of the interest from the African min-ing industry in the Watermaster, we expect to expand further on the continent as this market develops,” says Vuokko Laurila, Regional Man-ager for Watermaster in Southern Africa.

Watermaster dredger can be applied in vari-ous mining applications including slimes and sediment removal in process water ponds, the recovery of valuable materials in tailings ponds and for general tailings ponds maintenance.

The Watermaster’s versatility and efficiency ensures the overall efficiencyof the mine waste water treatment, contributing towards the smooth operation of the entire mining oper-ation.

In addition to applications in the mining in-dustry, Watermaster dredger is widely usedfor restoring and deepening shallow waterways, preventing floods, removing invasive vegeta-tion, cleaning polluted urban canals and for construction work in water environments.

Manufactured in Finland by Aquamec, there are over 300 global installations of the Water-master in 70 countries including African con-tinent where 47 units have been sold.

This includes several installations at mines and enrichment plants in Australia, Russia, Czech Republic, Philippines and Finland.

The first generation machine, the Watermaster Classic I, was introduced to the market in 1986 and has since undergone several improve-ments.

A fifth generation machine – the Watermaster Classic V – was launched in 2017, with a pow-erful suction dredging capacity.

The amphibious Watermaster is uniquely ver-satile and mobile and is specified for use in all shallow water work from dry ground to up to 6.3 m deep.

The compact sized machine is easily trans-ported as a complete unit. It unloads by itself from the trailer and walks independently into the water without crane assistance by using its tilting rear stabilizers and excavator arm.

In water, the Watermaster dredger uses its pro-pulsion system for cruising.In shallow waters, it moves by dragging itself using its excavator arm.

“The machine anchors with its own four stabi-lizers, ensuring stable work positioning. Switch-ing positions while operational is quick as the dredger doesn’t require separate anchors, winches, wire-cables or assisting vessels for operating,” said Laurila.

Watermaster’s own state-of-the-art Cutter Pump is an essential part of the Watermaster concept. It enables 50% to 100% more effec-tive pumping time compared with traditional dredging machines which have a stiff suction pipe covering only very narrow areas from one position and needs to be repositioned often, making the dredging work very slow and costly.

The Cutter Pump usesa strong, flexible exca-vator arm and independent anchoring system withfour tilting stabilizers, which allows the Wa-termaster to efficiently cover a large area from each position and can cover an area of over 90 m2, with a swing angle of 180 degrees.

The Watermaster is also able to reposition it-self quickly which means that over 96% of the total operation time is available for productive work and less than 4% goes to repositioning the machine; and it is ready to start working immediately after changing the position.

“The multipurpose Watermaster does the work of several different machines, thus reducing an operation’s overall investment and operational and maintenance costs” Vuokko Laurila

The submersible Cutter Pump can be used in very shallow waters or even when the machine itself is on dry land, compared with conven-tional dredgers which cannot submerse the pump or pump in shallow waters.

The Cutter Pump includes two cutter crowns for use in different soils and a patented inte-grated vegetation cutting knife system. The attachment has a maximum pumping and discharge distance of up to 1.5 km without the need for any booster pumps and a pumping capacity ofWatermaster Classic V is 900 m3/h, which is significantlymore efficient when com-pared with conventional machines.

When suction dredging using the Cutter Pump, the materials can be discharged either using a spray pipe or by usinga discharge pipeline.

The Watermaster dredging solution can also effectively be used with dewatering bags, sup-plied by several manufacturers worldwide. De-watering bags provide an effective alternative to mechanical processing that enables the cap-ture of precious metals and the efficient man-agement of mine tailings and other mine waste streams. The Watermaster is able to pumpthe materials into the bags, which then dewater the materials.

Dredging made easy with Watermaster


Ammonium Nitrate is used by the local mining industry to manufacture explosive for mining purposes. Although

ammonium nitrate in itself is not an explosive, it is regulated by the

Namibian Explosives Regulations and therefore must be treated as an explosive.

More tha a year ago Namport was approached by the local shipping in-dustry regarding the importation of ammonium nitrate. Namport started with a major research project which include visiting other ports who han-dle the prodcut. Namport in conjuc-

tion with the Namibian Police’s Ex-plosives Unit drafted our procedure on how to safely handle ammonium nitrate. During the 1st quarte of 2017. Namport was given the green light for importation to be allowed by the

Explosive Unit. All Cargo Terminals, Security and Emergency personnel were properly inducted.

On Monday 31 July 2017 the first shipment of 1,00 tons of ammonium ni-trate arrived on board the vessel called, ‘Au-tumn Wind’ destined for Husab Mine. The am-monium nitrate arrived in 1 ton bags and was offloaded over a period of 4 days by the Break

Bulk within our Terminal departmen at Namport. Both the Importer and Mine expressed thier gratutude and satisfaction with the effective and safe handling of the product with this first shipment.

‘The Namibian Ports Authority values the Business of our clients and we go beyond the call of duty in order to satisfy our clients’ specific require-

ments. While maintaining our world class port, ISPS and ISO certification standards, we continually promote ourselves as the gateway for SADC’, said Mr Elias Mwenyo, (Acting) Exec-utive: Commercial.

The Port of Walvis Bay is Namibia’s largest commercial Port. It stands as a natural gateway for international

trade and is strategically situated along the central coastal region of Namibia, offering direct access to

principal shipping routes. The Port receives approximately 4,000 vessel calls per year, handling over

6 million tonnes of cargo. The container terminal accommodates ground slots for 3,875 containers with

provision for 424 reefer container plug points, and a capacity to host 355,000 containers per annum.

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www.namport.com

Namport’s First Ammonium Nitrate Shipment

Loaded trucks queuing in order for the cargo to be secured before leaving the port, with Namport’s

Namport personnel hard at work loading the ammonium nitrate onto the trailers

The vessel hold with bagged ammonium nitrate before offloading started


The Port of Walvis Bay is Namibia’s largest commercial Port. It stands as a natural gateway for international

trade and is strategically situated along the central coastal region of Namibia, offering direct access to

principal shipping routes. The Port receives approximately 4,000 vessel calls per year, handling over

6 million tonnes of cargo. The container terminal accommodates ground slots for 3,875 containers with

provision for 424 reefer container plug points, and a capacity to host 355,000 containers per annum.

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Two decades of Port Excellence

www.namport.com


International News

De Beers’ rough diamond production for quarter three of 2017 increased 46 per cent to 9.2 million carats in line with the higher production forecast

for 2017.

According to the company, the development reflects stable trading conditions as well as the contribution from the ramp-up of Gahcho Kué in Canada.

Namdeb Holdings’ production increased 12 per cent to 454,000 carats primarily as a result of higher mining rates from Debmarine Namibia’s Mafuta vessel.

In Botswana, the production increased 33 per

cent to 6.1 million carats with Orapa’s produc-tion increased 60 per cent mainly driven by the ramp-up of Plant 1, which was previously on partial care and maintenance in response to trading conditions in late 2015.

And Jwaneng’s production increased 23 per cent as a result of planned increases in feed to plant.

The De Beers Consolidated mines controlled from South Africa saw its production increased 41 per cent to 1.5 million carats largely as a re-sult of higher grades at Venetia.

In De Beers Canada production increased five-fold to 1.1 million carats due to the ramp-up of

Gahcho Kué, which reached nameplate capac-ity in Q2 2017.

As for sales De Beers’ consolidated rough dia-mond sales volumes in Q3 2017 were 6.5 mil-lion carats (6.9 million carats on a total 100 per cent basis) from two Sights, compared with 5.3 million carats (5.7 million carats on a total 100 per cent basis) from two Sights in Q3 2016.

“The increase was driven by a normalisation of demand for lower value goods in 2017,” the group said.

Meanwhile the group’s full year production guidance has been revised to 33 million carats, previously pegged at 31 – 33 million carats.

De Beers’ rough diamonds production rise

The De Beers Consolidated mines controlled from South Africa saw its production increased 41 per cent to 1.5 million carats largely as a result of higher grades at Venetia.

Bell Equipment has announced intentions to enter Southern Africa’s tipper truck market through a partnership with KA-MAZ, a Russian-based company.

Synonymous with providing purpose designed trucks to the harshest applications, KAMAZ’s consistent strong performance in the challeng-ing Dakar Rally is to spur, the company’s port-folio expansion.

"After a long period of investigation we are now ready to take this milestone step and enter the tipper truck market.

“By expanding our one-stop-shop offering to our southern African customers, we are able to satisfy more of their needs and further our goal of being partners rather than suppliers,” said Stephen Jones, Bell Equipment's Group Marketing Director.

Jones said finding the right partner has been key because there have been a lot of new en-trants trying to penetrate the market.

“We identified KAMAZ as our preferred partner some time ago due to the demonstrated per-formance and product attributes fit, which we had experienced through mutual customers and applications where Bell trucks are working in Russia.

“Further confidence was gained from other Bell partners, with a stake in KAMAZ held by Daimler AG, which also has a stake in Mercedes Benz, the engine supplier for the range of Bell Articulated Dump Trucks.”

Established in 1969, KAMAZ manufactures out of Naberezhnye Chelny in Russia and accounts for half the trucks sold in that country, as well as being represented in 80 countries across the world.

"KAMAZ shares our values and focuses on understanding applications and customer ex-pectations, and designs products that speak to these," continues Jones.

"As a 14 time winner of the Dakar, the world's toughest off-road endurance race, customers can rest assured that KAMAZ trucks are tough and reliable. This ties in with our Bell ethos of providing strong reliable machines."

According to Bell Equipment Product Mar-keting Manager, Brad Castle, the first phase of the KAMAZ introduction will consist of four models, which will be available as left hand or right hand drive vehicles. The models will in-clude two 6x4 trucks with payloads of 15 and 20 tonnes, a 6x6 truck with a payload of 19,5

tonnes and a 8x4 truck with a payload of 25,5 tonnes.

Across the range, well matched engines and drivetrains bolster performance and the abil-ity to deliver results while stronger fabricated structures promote durability.

The trucks also feature air-suspended seats and cabs to create industry-leading comfort that drives productivity, safety and ensures driver satisfaction.

Rafail Gafeev, General Director of KAMAZ For-eign Trade Company said the partnership will bring great value to both companies.

"The KAMAZ products have been tried and tested in the most challenging environments resulting in uncompromising products that are uncomplicated and tough.

We believe that the KAMAZ product philoso-phy coupled with Bell Equipment's extensive distribution network of over 50 branches and dealers, world class aftermarket service and technical support is a clear recipe for success to meet the southern African customers' needs,” Gafeev said.

KAMAZ trucks enters Southern Africa market


Corporate News

Organisers of Africa’s biggest mining jamboree – Mining Indaba have promised a big and better event in 2018.

The event’s new organisers - Euromoney said all stakeholders in the sector have been en-gaged, returning the event to a deal making forum.

Alex Grose, Managing Director for Mining Ind-aba said new additions to the jamboree include the Junior Mining Showcase, Investment Bat-tlefield and the enhanced Investor Programme.

“Increased numbers are expected in 2018 at the inaugural Junior Mining Showcase,” said Grose.

He said that qualified, high value investors have been invited to attend Mining Indaba free of charge since 2015, citing that investor atten-dance has grown to 350+ investors at the last event.

“There were 637 mining company delegates, including 166 junior mining companies, 70 of which were listed, at the 2017 event,” Grose said.

Grose said over the past eighteen months, a lot of behind the scenes activites have been on-

going to attract investment for Africa’s ministry industry through Mining Indaba and grow the platform.

“Increased numbers are expected in 2018 at the inaugural Junior Mining Showcase,” said Grose, adding that the platform brings prospective mining projects and leading global investors in one location

Meanwhile sustainable development is taking a prominent position in 2018, with full-day interactive discussions and workshops in col-laboration with communities and civil society associations.

Euromoney overhaul Mining Indaba

over the past eighteen months, a lot of behind the scenes activites have been ongoing to attract investment for Africa’s ministry industry through Mining Indaba and grow

the platform.

International diamond company De Beers Group has announced that it will provide diamond verification services to Singapore Diamond Mint Company’s (SDM) new in-

vestment-grade diamond product, Diamond BullionTM, listed on the Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange (SDiX).

De Beers’ International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR) said will use its proprietary diamond inscription technology to inscribe a unique identification number on the tables of each diamond used in the Diamond Bullion, which will confirm the natural origin of each diamond sealed in the bullion.

Once inscribed, the diamonds are transferred into the bullion by SDM and verified by IIDGR via a Master Report that confirms the bullion meets with SDiX’s product specifications, prior to it being traded on the SDiX.

“IIDGR is rapidly becoming the byword for con-fidence and assurance in the international dia-mond sector, and we’re delighted to be provid-ing our diamond verification and proprietary inscription services for this exciting new initia-tive,” said Jonathan Kendall, President of IIDGR.

The Diamond Bullion is a world-first investment product traded on the SDiX. It is a credit card-sized package of investment-grade polished diamonds contained in a tamper-resistant sin-tered zirconia case.

“The unique inscription that IIDGR places on every diamond inside the Diamond Bullion allows all of the diamonds to be tracked and verified, providing investors with the highest level of confidence in this revolutionary new diamond investment product.

“IIDGR’s industry-leading technology, backed by De Beers Group’s 120-year diamond his-tory and expertise, makes it the ideal partner to SDM and SDiX,” said Alain Vandenborre, Founder and Executive Chairman of SDiX, and Director of SDM.

IIDGR expands into Singapore

“The unique inscription that IIDGR places on every diamond inside the Diamond Bullion allows all of the diamonds to be tracked and verified...


Corporate News

Sandvik has added a new intelligent solu-tion to its industry-leading AutoMineTM portfolio.

The AutoMineTM Tele-Remote for under-ground loaders, is the new smart entry-level addition to its industry-leading AutoMineTM product family.

AutoMineTM Tele-Remote provides an easy way to start exploring the full potential of Sandvik equipment automation while improv-ing productivity, safety and cost efficiency in mining operations.

The new AutoMineTM Tele-Remote provides functionality for smart teleoperation and mon-itoring of a single loader from the safety of a remote location.

The company says it is easy to set up, oper-ate and maintain without a need for advanced technical skills. Designed specifically for quick production area deployment, AutoMineTM

Tele-Remote is particularly suitable for contin-uously changing mining environments, such as applications with small stopes or mine devel-opment.

“AutoMineTM Tele-Remote makes remote loader operating simple thanks to a number of smart system functionalities assisting the oper-ator,” said Jarkko Ruokojärvi, Product Line Man-ager Automation at Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology.

“The advanced features – such as automatic steering and predictive wall collision avoidance – ensure easy and smooth operation of the loader, reducing strain on the operator.”

As the intelligent operator-assisting AutoMi-neTM Tele-Remote system automatically steers the loader in environments previously unknown to it, loading can start immediately after site installation without a need for area definitions.

In addition, the solution enables additional

productive hours each day by allowing con-tinued remote operation of the loader during blast clearance times.

Equipment utilisation is also increased as op-erators can hand over between shifts much faster, without the need to locate and travel to the equipment.

The intelligent features of the system assisting the operator also help to avoid wall collision damage that would otherwise lead to expen-sive downtime for repairs and maintenance.

According to Sandvik AutoMineTM Tele-Re-mote is compatible with other AutoMineTM packages, so it can be easily upgraded to high-er level Sandvik load and haul automation.

In addition, AutoMineTM Tele-Remote is an ideal solution for mines looking for a simple yet powerful way to gain more efficiency with remote operation as well as to those who may want to take the next step to even higher per-formance at a later stage.

New solution for underground loaders on offer

“AutoMineTM Tele-Remote makes remote loader operating simple thanks to a number of smart system functionalities assisting the operator,” said Jarkko Ruokojärvi, Product Line Manager


Corporate News

As competitiveness in Africa’s indus-trial space increase, Konecranes has launched Crane Advisor customer support tool.

The online tool helps customers narrow down their crane options with customized recom-mendations.

The tool already extensively used in North America and is now available in Southern Af-rica, with new features and content.

“Crane Advisor is a service that makes the in-formation retrieval a lot easier and more effi-cient for customers,” says John MacDonald, Service, Sales and Marketing Director of Kone-cranes Southern Africa.

“Crane Advisor offers the customer valuable in-formation which is then customized according to their lifting needs.”

Konecranes says invests in research and devel-opment to bring new technologies and novel-ties to the market.

According to the company, the tool is driven by ease-of-use and customized information.

MacDonald said only four steps are necessary to get a crane recommendation. He said Crane Advisor asks the customer to answer four key questions – industry, capacity, span and duty class.

“The icon-based-design of the tool makes it extremely user-friendly. After submitting the answers, the user immediately gets a personal-

ized overhead crane recommendation.”

The Crane Advisor saves the customer’s time and decision-making.

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Online crane advisor comes to Africa


Features

The best diamonds in the world come from the sea. Swept up from riverbeds by the mighty Orange River in southern Africa back when dinosaurs still roamed

the earth, their bumpy journey to the Atlantic polished them and broke up any stones with flaws, ensuring only the strongest and best sur-vived.

Those diamonds landed off the coast of what is now Namibia, creating the world’s richest ma-rine-diamond deposit.

The country’s territorial waters are now esti-mated to hold 80 million carats, and the world’s biggest diamond miner, De Beers, has quietly built up an armada off the coast to vacuum up those precious gems.

Diamonds on land are running out; no eco-nomically viable new source has been found in 20 years.

Mines in Canada and Australia could run out in five years, analysts say, and Botswana, home to De Beers’ sales headquarters, will be bare by 2030.

Business consultancy Bain has predicted that even with bountiful sources like Russia and Na-mibia, the global supply of rough diamonds will decline by 2% per year until 2030.

That decline would be even faster if not for un-dersea jewels. Debmarine, De Beers’ exclusive joint venture with the Namibian government, says 60% of local Namibian diamonds current-ly come from the sea and predicts that could soon rise to 94%. Since undersea mining be-gan 14 years ago, 16 million carats have been mined at sea and 62 million on land in Namibia.

Debmarine uses five vessels fitted with either drills or a giant “tractor” that sucks up sediment from the seabed. This is passed through filters and x-rays to separate out the gems.

The tractor alone hoovers up 630 metric tons of material every hour yielding around 80 car-ats, which is a palmful of stones.

Plenty of other miners are following Debma-rine’s example: Twenty-six seabed-mining li-censes have since been granted to firms from various countries for sites in the Pacific’s inter-national waters.

De Beers’ parent company, Anglo American, owns shares in Nautilus and will be watching these early explorations with interest.

It might also soon have company on the Na-mibian seabed: In October 2016, the first phos-phate-mining firm got government permission to start exploring the deep sea.

This piece is featured in Quartz’s new book The Objects that Power the Global Economy.

Best diamonds at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean

Plenty of other miners are following Debmarine’s example: Twenty-six seabed-mining licenses have since been granted to firms from various countries for sites

in the Pacific’s international waters.


© Arnold K Chinyemba, Arnold’s Designs, 2017 (Fullpage advert with writeup for Namgola +260 966 172279, NO RE-USE WITHOUT WRITTEN CONSENT.

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Impact Oil and Gas is optimistic that energy sector in Africa is destined for an upward swing

Mike Doherty, Executive Chairperson of the company said there was significant potential for growth in the oil and gas sector in Africa, He cited the continent’s ‘huge untapped po-tential’ offshore, particularly in deeper waters which were ‘almost totally unexplored’. Impact Oil and Gas has exploration interests in five African countries, including on the east coast and west coast of South Africa, as well as

in Namibia and Gabon.

Doherty said there was tremendous potential in the Transkei-Algoa area. “We think hydrocarbons are indicated within huge fans. The Namibia licence is particularly interesting. We have found an absolutely huge basin floor fan on the edge of the continental boundary.” He said there could be up to five-billion barrels of recoverable oil in the area. Meanwhile experts from UK-based Standard

Chartered Bank expect the oil price will remain in the $45/bl to $60/bl-plus range. “We are in a lower for a longer cycle,” Standard Chartered Bank global head of energy and nat-ural resources Peter Gaw. He said he had seen a greater level of cautious optimism this year compared with the previous two years, however, oil prices were still strug-gling. Gaw anticipated that there would not be much upward pressure given the enormous diversity of supply of energy in the world currently.

Energy exploration firm sets eyes on Namibia

Namibia Power Corporation | P.O.Box 2864, Windhoek. Tel: +264 61 205 4111| Fax: +264 61 232 805 | [email protected] | www.nampower.com.na

• Through the power of strong leadership and a committed workforce• Through the progressive implementation of our strategic plans• Through sophisticated infrastructure and systems• Through harmonising engineering and logistics planning

For years, NamPower has been the engine that drives the nation’s economy, communities, and our everyday lives. The dedicated women and men who fuel NamPower are committed to continue powering the nation for decades to come.

POWERING THE NATION AND

BEYOND

calls for mining sector inclusivity...

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